First Nations Voice

JUNE 2016 • PAGE 5 Winnipeggers well know what legal foot-dragging looks like. There's even a monument to it on Kenaston Boulevard, better known as Kapyong Barracks, that was the subject of no less than four legal foot-dragging decisions during the Harper Government's tenure. Starting in 2009 over the next 6 years, it took no less than three native legal wins just to determine that Canada had a duty to consult with Treaty 1 First Nations. That's a lot of downtime for what is now the city's leading 'wasting asset' tying up both traffic solutions and taxable income from a valuable property - not to mention the strained relationship with Treaty 1 First Nations. So are there other examples of such folly on Canada's road to reconciliation? Indeed, there are. The Harper Government's foot-dragging on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) outdoes the Kapyong saga by two full years - starting in 2007. The very last country to sign on, Canada did so in 2010 (after 3 years of naysaying) but with the key qualification that the declaration was 'aspirational' only. It would take another six years for this formal objection to be removed from the UN record. That's what the new Liberal government did on May 9 at the UN; putting a stop to a full decade of Harper Government foot-dragging. What happened then was extraordinary: the very next day major institutions and think-tanks that had backed the Harper Government right to the bitter end - now embraced UNDRIP. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the Mining Association of Canada, and (notably) the MacDonald Laurier Institute, all exhaled that we were now in a better time and place by which to promote reconciliation on the road to resources. But where were they a decade ago? A decade whose main attribute was 'systemic stagnation' on the native file. No other 'ruling' has prompted such a remarkable about-face as this, the Liberal Government's unqualified endorsement of UNDRIP. As such, I'm counting it as native legal win # 229 on Canada's road to resources. Of course, it's not strictly-speaking a legal ruling - it's actually far more than that - because it puts an end to a decade of legal foot- dragging that tied up Canada everywhere (from downtown Winnipeg to Tidewaters in all directions). This 'ruling' had to happen for Canada to break free from the current geo- political gridlock stifling the economy. Here are excerpts of the speech by Canada's Minister of Justice & Attorney General Jody Wilson-Reybould at the 15th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum Indigenous Peoples NYC May 9/16; whereby Canada promotes reconciliation on the road to resources. "Parliament has a record number of Indigenous MP's (communities voted in record numbers) …our Prime Minister has made a solemn commitment for fundamental change in rebuilding the relationship … no relationship is more important to him and to Canadians … this is the most challenging area of public policy today in Canada … we must complete the unfinished business of confederation … we must seek to deconstruct our colonial legacy … Truth and Reconciliation Report points the way forward … Canada imposed an organized system of governance and we need to move beyond that by breathing life into s.35 of the Constitution plus the U.N. Declaration (UNDRIP) plus our legal wins … we don't need to fight battles already won … rather we need to transition to a new order … it's not going to be easy to decolonize after a 140 year legacy … One of the toughest questions will be how to unpack 'free prior informed consent' … that's the toughest question … but Indigenous people need to participate in (resource) decisions that impact their lives … this requires a new 'Nation-to-Nation' relationship … meaning laws will have to change and policies need to be rewritten … the country needs a National Action Plan … really a Reconciliation Framework … the time is right for meaningful and systemic change … for the better … cooperative federalism … whereby we become empowered to take back control of our own lives … This U.N. Permanent Forum is a very important mechanism for advancing the universal recognition of rights … make this the Century of Indigenous Peoples … deconstruct colonialism … take charge and control our own destiny … see UNDRIP as a means to this end and not an end in itself" UN DECLARATION: A MAJOR NATIVE LEGAL WIN Bill Gallagher lawyer-author strategist: The Witness Blanket humanrights.ca The Witness Blanket art installation recognizes atrocities of the Indian Residential School era, honours the children and symbolizes ongoing reconciliation. Don't miss your chance to see it at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights only until June 25, 2016.

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